By now, Kingfisher residents should have received their annual fundraising letter from Kingfisher Trails.

The letter - sent to every resident and business in Kingfisher - provides an update on the progress of all the Kingfisher Trails projects within the past year from Board Chairman John Gooden.

It also outlines the goals for the upcoming year and provides the opportunity for citizens to donate to one or more specific projects.

But this year’s envelope from Kingfisher Trails was a little bit thicker.

It contained a “Needs Assessment Survey” that citizens are requested to fill out and return.

The survey was originally written by Gooden, but he also got input from Jill Ferenc, who is currently under contract as the city planner.

The survey will serve many needs, Gooden said.

“It is a collaboration of Kingfisher Trails, Inc., the City of Kingfisher and the Kingfisher County Development Foundation, with each contributing to it financially and each looking to make use of the results to formulate strategic planning to meet the needs of our community,” Gooden said.

The first portion of the survey relates to “general needs” that relate to such things as residential development, the schools, city services and other needs within a community.

The second portion of the survey relates more specifically to Newfield Community Park.

Those who want to participate in the survey can fill it out and return it to the Kingfisher Chamber of Commerce office, any local bank drive-thru or mail it to the address on the form.

There’s also an online version of the survey that can be accessed by scanning the QR code at the top of the mailed survey (it’s also included on Page 1 of this edition).

As for this year’s Kingfisher Trails fundraising drive, Gooden laid out three main objectives:

• Finishing the work at the bandshell in the Newfi eld Community Park to have it ready for concerts, weddings and festivals;

• Installing the new playground in the downtown park, featuring elements sponsored by the citizens of Kingfisher and employing a play surface like that found in the Playground of Dreams in Kingfisher Park.

• Installing a new 18-hole disc golf course in the park.

With some added trail maintenance, the fundraising goal this year is $185,000.

Since Kingfisher Trails is a non-profit organiza-tion, the donations are tax deductible.

In his letter, Gooden noted some of the improvements that have taken place in the last year, including the opening of the dog park, installation of tables and benches in the community park as well as the installation of lights, which are on every evening.

Gooden also noted that Kingfisher Trails has two grants in place to build a pair of new trail segments and the trails will soon have mileage markers and wayfinding maps installed throughout.

“Everything is linking together,” the letter reads.

Gooden hand-wrote every address on the letters that were sent out this year and a band of volunteers helped stuff envelopes. They included Dana Golbek, Sharon Clark, Meghan Wilson, Elise Morrow, Liz Walter, Shauna Rupp, Jody Gooden, Russell Hopkins, Brian Walter, Cyndi Ice, Emily Zingg, Mark Westman and Mary Westman.